Madagascar was about to open in Paris when I was there, and ads for it were everywhere. They touted the movie’s all-star voice cast–but they were different all-star voices than the ones in the U.S. version of the film. And I’d never heard of any of them.

I’m still playing catchup from my Paris visit, so I’ll blog highlights of the trip in bits and pieces. Starting right now.

Here are figurines I bought–at a neighborhood video store–of the characters that the French call La Girl and Le Loupe. These aren’t those 100-euro limited-edition collectors’ items, though I saw plenty of those. No, these ones cost me about four bucks apiece.

How can you dislike a town where stuff like this is readily available for prices like that?

You know it’s been a crummy weekend when CNN.com’s home page carries separate news stories about the deaths of Tigger and Piglet. (Although both Winchell and Fiedler deserve to be remembered for far more than Pooh, of course.)

Both gents will be missed. And as far as I’m concerned, they’re irreplacable–even though Disney obviously doesn’t agree.

I’m about to come home from Paris and am shamefully behind on my blogging. Stay tuned for a full report, and here’s a picture from my visit to Parc Asterix to tide you over. (Photo by Elizabeth McCracken.)